News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-11-24
HOW COTTON IS HANDLED
CHARACTERISED SCENES ON
THE LEVEES OF THE Cries
CENT CITY.
Taking the Product from the River
Steamboats, and Putting it Aboard
the Ocean Steamships-Qui
Work With Cargoes.

| From the New Orleans Times-Democrat.l
The arrival of steamboat laden with
cotton is not as frequent sight on the
| levee to-day as formerly, notwithstand-
| ing the fact that the season opened ON
| 1st of September and that the receipts
are larger than any September during
the last five years. Still, the IN
| teresting theme remains the same as
in former days, when fully twenty
steamboats, unloaded at the same
time on the city front. One OF the
reasons of the decline is the diversion
consequent upon the development OF
the railroads in certain sections, but the
principal cause is due to the unnavlgs-
BILE conditions of such small streams
as Bayou Lafourche, Teche, Atchata-
| lava, Red River, Yazoo River, Ouachlta
| River. and numerous other small
| streams. and the result is that between
| fifteen and eighteen steamboats, are
idle.
| If these idle boats could navigate III
those tributaries, great deal more cot
ton would be brought here. There is
ample business for these boats to remove
| the crops and other tonnage. The Qua
|
va, and Red Rivers are navigable, but
the only way of reaching them is via
| Old River, which is the outlet, and Old
River is closed.
When steamboat arrives, after she is
made fast the stages are launched and
rugged for unloading, and, like clock
work, all hands set to work to unload
| her,
The discharging clerk, book in hand,
takes his position short distance from
the age, and cries out Gail ready 2"
The response invariably is eyes, and
in less time than it takes to tell the
work is under headway. The first per
sons to touch the cotton are the break
ers. They break out the cotton. Two
men stand on the top of the piles, armed
with cotton hooks, and bring tie bales
down to the deck. The cotton is slowed
very tight, the bales being jammed very
closely together, to keep the cargo in
tact while the boat is under way, and
therefore the gang on either side of the
guards are given difficult task
The cotton roller rolls the bales down
the stage to shore. Two men handle n
bale with cotton hooks; they roll the
| bale down the stage at rapid rate OF
| speed and to the end, where two men
| stand ready with truck, upon which
| the bale is placed. One man handles
the truck while the other pushes the
| bale in the rear-the bale averaging 500
pounds. The truckmen pass by the
| discharging clerk, who calls ont the col
OF of the flag to which the cotton is to
|. go. After the boat lands the flags are
placed on the wharf, different color
for each cOnsignee's cotton, and, as the
cotton passes, the clerk glances at the
marks and directs it to be dumped on
tlft. at)fIe- ltffJttJ7Jt tu-tfI5 COTIsISh6e, III
the center of which stands the flag.
Persons listening to the discharg1ng
clerk calling out the cOlors Of the flags
seldom understand the meaning until
inquiries are made.
Passing the discharging clerk, the
truckmen keep out until they reach the
place designated by the colored flag,
and there they head the bales up and
Immediately return to the side OF the
stage and take place in the line OF
trucks that are awaiting turn to be
loaded The cotton is now ready to be
handled by the cotton press forces.
The loading and unloading of steam
boats is done by a class OF men, white
and colored, who are classed levee Ia
borers, who load and unload all boats
while in port, and are paid twenty five
cents per hour. Some of this work is
done under the supervision of the mate
of the boat, while on other boats it Is
done bya contractor, who agrees to
load or unload the boat for a round
sum.
There is probably no port in the world
where a cotton crop is handled so quick
lv and with such marked skill as here
in New Orleans. Take, for instance,
the cargo of the Henry Frank. A few
years ago, when she came in here with
9,226 bales of cotton, which cargo was
discharged inside of twenty-slX hours,
and within thirty-siX hours from the
time of her arrival at the wharf every
bale of that cotton was in press, Sun
dav intervening Notwithstanding. No
handling like this has ever before or
since been done in this country. After
| the cotton is laid down around the flag
and ready for the cotton press, the in
spector, who is appointed by the Cotton
| Exchange, inspects it, sees that it is in
good order, and if it is not he reports
|
The cotton headed upon the levee is
ready to be carried off to the press. The
| teamsters and leaders are the next to
| take charge of it. The teamsters and
| leaders are all cOlOrcd men and belong
to an association. The float backs up
to the pile that is to be taken and four
I leaders are employed in loading the
| float.
They use the ordinary cotton hook
| break down the bales and roll them to
the float and then load the floats up, each
float taking from ten to twelve bales of
uncompressed cotton. After the boat
| is loaded the leaders take position at
! the wheels and start the mules off, and
| the cotton is taken to the cotton press.
| In former years drays were used, but
| for the last ten years floats have been
placed in their stead. The floats that
| carry ten and twelve bales are drawn
by three powerful mules. After the
| cotton is compressed, between fourteen
| and seventeen bales are placed thereon.
| When the floats arrive at the cotton
press the cotton is dumped III the yard
| by the teamsters, and the cotton rollers
arrange it in order for sampling for fac
tors samples, which are taken to the
factors cotton room and placed on their
tables. While the sampling is going
on a supervisor stands near, whose duty
it is to see that the cotton is not wasted
in sampling and to report ON the condi-
ton thereof.
Every bale of cotton coming in and
going out of the city is watched by the
officers and the employees of the Ex-
| InI, no
always posted.
The cotton press generally occupies
an entire square of ground, with sheds
and courtyard in the center. The
yard always presents n snowy white ap-
pearance. Oyster shells are dumped
therein, which, by the wagons continu-
ally passing over, grinds them down tc
n very fine shell dust, thereby leaving
it impossible for cotton to be damaged
by being rolled over it from the float tc
the shed. The yards are we'll drained
and water flows off very rapidly. Be
meath the sheds the ground is raised
and covered with flooring. Every safe
guard against damage to the staple
while in the press is taken. The roo
of the press is covered with heavy states
and every year just prior to the opening
of the season the floor and roof of the
sheds are given thorough overhaul
ing.
After the factors samples are taker
from the bales the cotton rollers remov,
it to the sheds, where it remains unit
it is sold by the factor. After it is solo